Walden Miller Leather started in Adelaide in 1969 as a one man band handcrafting leather goods. Demand was great and the business quickly grew, graduating to simple suede garments when mini skirts and fringed jackets were the rage in the early '70s.

From there it was a logical progression to more sophisticated leather garments and accessories, and Walden Miller were making inroads into the fashion scene in Melbourne by 1972. Motocross was big then, but it took a little time for the management to realise the potential, prefering the rag trade. Eventually it was realised that the motorcycle industry had several advantages over the fashion trade, not the least being that the people are nicer.

By 1975 the company was devoted fully to manufacturing garments for motorcyclists. We like to think our products have changed a great deal for the better since then. A lot of the improvement has occurred through evolution. For example our padded bike jacket is still around after more than 20 years. The fit and the features have been improved many times over the years.

It took several years to cover the whole country and we continued to grow. We are now the biggest manufacturer of motorcycle garments in Australia.

Being the biggest in Australia is no excuse for being complacent. We realise the need for constant customer feedback. To this end we maintain a retail outlet at the Adelaide factory, as well as a mail order system. Our management is in close contact with dealers, inviting their views.

We're proudly Australian, using predominantly Australian materials. We've recently begun to export to New Zealand, the U.K. and Germany. We are finding the challenge exciting. The European market is very discerning and it's doing us good to get their opinions of our products. And now that we have had the online catalogue running for some time, we are receiving considerable interest from the U.S., particularly for our Kangaroo garments. Which has given us a commitment to quality and innovation which can only benefit the local market.

The only part of our leather range we import is our gloves. There are no glovemakers in Australia, as the labour intensive product cannot be produced economically here. We use only one longstanding supplier in Hong Kong, who has performed well for the many years we've been associated. Their commitment to quality and innovation helped us have the first Gore-tex lined (waterproof) leather motorcycle glove in Australia.

Our Aim is to build on our number one position in the motorcycle garment industry. We will continue to specialise in clothing manufacture and will continue to offer the best, most extensive range of motor cycle garments available in Australia.

Competition from imports will increase as the Australian Government lowers import duties which have protected local manufacturers in the past. The imports will mostly be Asian and will cater for the budget conscious.

This gives us an opportunity to concentrate on the discerning buyer's needs. We will devote more time to research and development. The prime aim will be to cater for Australian motorcycling conditions.

We look forward to an exciting future and we would like you to be part of it. We would appreciate your feedback.